What would it be like to just pause, soften and breathe right now?

(ok, I'm going to do it, too)

Love,
Amy

LOVE

"Yoga is the way of moving into stillness to experience the truth of who you are." ~ Erich Schiffman

So what is the truth of who we really are? Is it LOVE?


Shanti ~ Amy

Celebration

Sound when stretched is music.

Movement when stretched is dance.

Mind when stretched is meditation.

Life when stretched is celebration.

~ Ravi Shankar



Love this quote- enjoy! Amy

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman
We are past the full moon a few days now, and summer has swelled to its peak and now will start to wind down toward the cooling of autumn. In taking a cue from nature's rhythms of expansion and contraction; we may have noticed a swell of energy at the time of the full moon or embraced the heat of summer in August (work with me on this Northwest folks!). Seeds planted long ago are in full bloom and summer fruits are ripe and juicy. The tides of the oceans respond to the pull of the full moon to become fuller and stronger. In my yoga practice, I can also explore these rhythms thought setting an intention in a posture, feeling the height of energy/fullest expression in a posture, and then letting it all go. In this way, I have become more and more tuned into the rhythms of energy in my own life: planting seeds of intention, cultivating those intentions, then harnessing the best of what blossoms from those intentions (for those Yogis playing along at home . . . don't miss the the analogy of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva). Right now, I'm letting go of a full summer of travel and exciting projects to get ready for the routines of my graduate school beginning again and my children heading back to school. The fruition of our intentions, just like full moon energy or the height of summer, is an opportunity to harvest what serves us; recycle the rest; and surrender to the next phase of energy. Non-attachment can facilitate a peaceful transition toward the cool days of autumn or dark skies of a waning moon. Moreover, releasing resistance to moving into the quiet stages of energy cycles helps us clear out space for a fuller, brighter blossoming of our intentions next cycle around. Trees don't hold onto to the leaves of summer once they've served their purpose and become brown, for example. They release them without drama and quietly wait for the new buds. ~ Lovingly Namaste, Amy

Letting Go

Yoga is always about letting go, it is never about holding on. There is a relief in letting go of old ideas and habits that no longer serve us. But there is also fear and doubt because at one point these thoughts and patterns served a purpose…at some level they helped us operate…and we are not quite sure how to operate without them…or how to go about acting and thinking in a different way. But the HOW will come. The HOW is our PATH and like all things is learned through practice. The first step is the willingness to let go of the past…to step off the old familiar path and step onto a new path that leads to a place not yet explored. We will stumble on this path. But “by [our] stumbling, the world is perfected” (Sri Aurobindo).

-Bryan Michel

"Making sexy with yoga!"

Selamat pagi! (good morning in Indonesian)

a rainy day in Ubud so we didn't go to the elephant park today. And I am off from yoga as well. Alex and I are enjoying the beauty and serenity of this enchanting island. I love waking early to the busy activities of the surrounding rice fields ( right now buzzing with biannual rice planting ). My son and I walk into the village and I sneak in an refreshing practice of sun salutations on my terrace. Yesterday we visited the bird and reptile parks.

A funny little story from yesterday: a motor bike taxi dropped me part way to the yoga studio in Sayan village. I told the driver that I was going to walk to yoga. He smiled and said, "making sexy with yoga!!" w
pretty catchy, huh? Could be my new marketing slogan. : )

I'm looking forward to more yoga, pranayama and meditation in the morning o
verlooking the Ayung River valley with my beloved teachers.

Love to all from Bali! Amy

Sneaky Ego...

At some point, we get to a place in our practice or our lives that makes us terribly uncomfortable.
What does it mean to be uncomfortable? Especially within that moment specifically? It must mean that we have SOME sort of expectation about our present moment.

Ah, EXPECTATIONS...
could that be one of the seven deadly yogi sins if there were such a thing? I imagine many enlightened beings would call "expectation" the perfect example of the PAST EXERTING ITSELF ON THE PRESENT.

So what would it mean to let go of an expectation? Woah man, that could be a big deal...
Because it's not as if we can't and shouldn't learn from the past, right? We figure out that if we lean a little too far we might fall over, lean a little to hard on someone else, and they might fall over.
So again...if we let go of expectation, how does that mean we live?
In every next moment as if it were an entirely new experience? I don't know. Maybe exploring how expectations are created within ourselves will help answer the question -

This is how I broke down my formula for expectation:

LAST TIME, "A" happened. And it was AWESOME...or CRAPPY.
SO NEXT TIME, I BELIEVE IT SHOULD HAPPEN LIKE THIS...

but check out these words for a second...
"Awesome" and "Crappy" are judgements - but who's judging?
"I believe," and "it should" - whoa whoa whoa- who's talking here???

ahh...and so the ego shows herself...

She's sneaky.

If we lived without discomfort, would our egos ever be challenged?
If ego were never challenged, she would rule our minds and keep us unconscious forever.

SO. As we move into challenge and possible discomfort in our lives/practice, notice WHO is uncomfortable. Is it that sneaky, saucy ego?
Name it
Release it
Recycle it
It has no hold on you.
It can only teach you.

LOVE ERIN